


The Journey Begins

by insanitysartist



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Continuation, Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Post-Episode AU: s04e13 Journey's End, Post-Episode: s04e13 Journey's End
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-30 12:21:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3936580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insanitysartist/pseuds/insanitysartist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Tardis departs, Rose and the Meta-Crisis Doctor are left together but stranded. After having been left behind again, Rose must wrap her head around the idea of living with this new Doctor – who is her Doctor but isn’t – and cope with the idea of knowing the other Doctor is living in another world, alone again. For the Doctor himself, while also facing the slightly-distant Rose, he must come to terms with the fact that he is now forever going the slow way. With no Tardis and a body that ages like any human’s would, he has no choice. </p><p>What happens when in the midst of a nostalgic impromptu adventure, they stumble on the likes of something they never thought they’d see in this world?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Impossible

**Author's Note:**

> This story rated explicit for a later chapter/s that might have explicit sex scenes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4/22/16: I dove back into this work to get the LONG overdue third chapter out and in the process ended up editing quite a bit of the first chapter. It's all tweaks and improvements, some minor details or thoughts or words changed, clarifications added. It doesn't necessitate a reread however.

 

~~

                It was unbelievably quiet after the Tardis departed. The Doctor and Rose simply stared at the spot where the old blue box had been, holding hands and lost in their thoughts. After a long moment, Jackie cleared her throat and suggested they get a move on – it was getting late and they had a long trip back to London tomorrow. They drove back to Bergen and checked into the closest hotel. It wasn’t until they reached their room that either one of them spoke, and that was only because their keys had led them to the same door. Stuttering with a hint of blush creeping over their cheeks, they froze.

                “Is this–,” Rose began.

                “Did she–,” the Doctor started.

                “Problem?” Jackie said as she came around the corner.

                “ _Well_ ,” the Doctor replied with his usual exaggeration and a nervous scratch behind his ears, “– ah – there seems to be a bit of a mix up with the rooms.”

                Jackie’s face didn’t show a hint of surprise. In fact, she looked quite proud of herself. “No, I don’t think so.”

                Rose’s eyes widened. “Mum–”

                “Well dear, I’m off to bed,” she replied, ignoring Rose entirely. “Had a long day today and got another long drive tomorrow. I’m sure you two will want to tuck in soon too.” With that, she strolled right past them, once again ignoring her daughter as she called after her (“Mum!”), waving her goodnight as she slipped into her room.

                Rose turned to face the Doctor, exasperated, “Honestly, the nerve of that woman sometimes.” When he didn’t respond, she gave him a tentative glance. “Guess we better go in then?”

                “Rose–,” he tried to say, but she did take after her mother in more ways than one after all. Without a word, she scanned the card and opened the door, throwing him a little smile as she breezed inside.

                “Come on then,” she called. “Mum’s right, we need our rest.”

                Hesitating, he stepped into the room after her. It was nice, he supposed. Pretty spacious, pretty basic for an Earth hotel room, but nice all the same. The color scheme consisted of various cream and light yellow colors. There was a long wooden desk on one side of the room, the large TV perched on one side of it and stationary set up on the other end, a basic desk chair sitting in front of it. In the corner on the opposite wall there was a leather recliner with a small adjustable table. Beside the single bed took up quite a bit of room and was decked out in fluffy white pillows and a large, cream and yellow striped comforter.

                “Just one bed, of course,” Rose was muttering to herself as he went to stand beside her.

                He leaned down and spoke quietly to her, “I know you must be feeling a lot right now and I don’t want to do anything to make it worse,” He paused – pain flashing in his gut. “If you just say the word, I’ll be gone for the night and I’ll meet you in the morning.”

                Rose titled her head toward him, leaving their faces only centimeters apart. Softly, sweetly, she replied, “After everything, how could I want you anywhere else but here?”

                Relief might have swept through him, but he could still see the pain and confusion in her eyes. He was him, but not him all over again. It was like they were back to the first time he regenerated in front of her. His Rose was looking at his face, but she couldn’t _see_ him yet. That old hurt was bubbling to the surface.

                But then Rose tilted her head forward just so and their lips met. His mind went blank and at first, all he could think about, all he could feel, was the press of her lips on his, her fingers in his hair as she pulled his face tight against hers, the feel of her silken face as he cradled it in his hands. It was different than how she kissed him on the beach. That one had been full of words so long unspoken and love so long quieted. This one, with her mouth pressed tight against his but her body still half a pace away, was both a reassurance and a reminder. Nevertheless, he savored her soft lips as long as she let him.

                Slowly, she pulled away and pressed her forehead to his. “Time for bed, yeah?”

                “Yeah.” He smiled. “Don’t suppose this place has complimentary pajamas?”  
                Rose laughed, “No, I think your suit will have to do.”

                He grinned, “Sleeping in a suit – well, I suppose we’ve been in worse situations.”

                Still laughing, she answered, “You can say that again.” He opened his mouth to do just that of course, but she pointed at him. “Don’t get smart with me, mister.”

                They both left their jackets draped over the chair in the corner and then settled in bed together. Rose rested her head on his chest and he arms wrapped around her. “So, now we’ve got to settle for real this time,” he remarked, recalling the last time they’d thought they were trapped without the Tardis forever, back on the Impossible Planet.

                “Shouldn’t have to get a mortgage though. Dad’ll help us out. He is loaded after all,” Rose quipped back, earning a chuckle from the Doctor.

                As another period of silence stretched over them, he wondered how long until talking was easy again, how long until they could be the same team. But they weren’t just a team anymore, he reminded himself. They were something more and something less all at the same time. No more adventures to go on, but they were still _together_ in a whole new way.

                It was Rose who broke the quiet this time. “Are you really going to do it? Come with me and live a normal life?”

                He sighed and rubbed her arm, but didn’t answer. The way she phrased the question was not lost on him. Was _he_ really going to settle? Rose, after all, was no longer a stranger to this universe. She had found a niche of sorts, even while she was making her way back to the other him. She knew where she’d fit and what she’d do. She could get used to it again. It was him that was facing a change of monumental proportions.

                “I chose this universe,” he finally replied. “I chose to settle too – even if the idea is completely wizard.”

                Rose’s head jerked up. “Completely _what?_ ”

                He laughed – his first laugh he realized. Summing it up as best he could, he explained how Donna’s DNA was part of what helped create him, so a bit of her was in him. Rose almost laughed, but she was afraid it’d be a hysterical sort of laugh; instead she said, “Now _that’s_ wizards.”

                She settled back down on him. “There’s UNIT, you know, even in this world. Could join with them and Dad,” she ventured, continuing their earlier conversation. He didn’t answer at first so she said, “But I don’t think you’d like them – too many rules, too much protocol.”

                “Don’t think they’d like me either,” he grinned.

                “No,” she laughed. “Better not then.”

                He chuckled. “Better not.”

                Rose sighed and snuggled to him tighter. “Then a normal life it is,” she whispered.

                “A normal life it is,” he agreed.

~

 

 

**_One Month Later_ **

                “A normal life my arse,” Rose muttered to herself, as her and the Doctor crawled through a ventilation shaft of the big pharmaceutical company, Global Apothecary, that was making its way across the nations. They were _supposed to be_ backpacking the fjords of Greenland and while they were definitely in Greenland, they weren’t doing anything close to backpacking.

                “What was that about your arse?” the Doctor quipped, glancing back at her.

                “None of your business, you,” she grumbled, giving him a slap on _his_ arse for good measure.

                “Oi!” He yelled back.

                She raised a brow. “Problem?”

                He opened his mouth to answer just as the ventilation shaft crashed down. Rose screamed and reached for the Doctor but it was in vain. She landed hard and her head bounced off the ground. She moaned in pain. Black swirls clouded her vision. She heard his voice calling for her (“Rose? Rose, are you okay?”), and felt his hands lifting her up.

                “Oooh,” she moaned. Her head was killing her, but her vision had started to clear up. “Doctor what the _bloody_ hell was that?”

                He sighed in relief and glanced around at their surroundings. “Judging by the crash and the amount of debris…” He paused and sucked in a breath, “I’d say they set off an explosion just to get us out of the shaft.” He stood and offered a hand to Rose.

                Once up and balanced she took a look around. “Dedicated, they are.” She bit her lip and studied the piles of rock and cables and metal in the dim light they had. “What kind of company blows up their own offices? They could’ve collapsed the whole thing.”  
                The Doctor smirked and wiggled his eye brows at her, “The kind with something to hide.” His face regained its serious expression as he examined the debris surround them. “Weird, though. The explosion seems to have only affected one line of the walls – which is why the shaft was affected, it sits in the wall just below the ceiling. In _fact_ ,” he went on, looking up, “The ceiling looks perfectly intact. That is _definitely_ bonkers.” He started clambering over debris towards the only visible exit. “Looks like your Torchwood friends were right. So much for backpacking then.”

                Rose, suddenly agitated at his excitement, clambered after him. “No wonder you’re happy – got your way then after all. No more backpacking and an investigation to boot.”

                He didn’t reply, but Rose regretted the words as soon as they flew out of her mouth. It had been a hard month for both of them.  In the hotel the morning after they were left, they seemed to come to an unspoken agreement. They couldn’t simply settle. Rose never really had – she’d always been trying to find him again. And now that they were together? Settling was never their way.

                Her mum wasn’t surprised at all. She’d had money and maps waiting for them, along with a little note where they could get some supplies. From there, they did the only thing they could think of – a backpack through Europe. They’d gone through bits of Norway and Sweden before hopping on a boat to come here. It was supposed to be fun, supposed to be them travelling and discovering the world that existed in this universe. The first couple of nights had been okay – nice even. The rest of them since, however, were anything but. She had her moments where she was relaxed and comfortable, but then the very next she’d remember, just like this world was theirs but not, he was him but not him.

                She hated herself for the thought. It was so unfair to him, but it kept creeping in. She remembered vividly the first time he regenerated in front of her – how scared and unsure she had been, but at least she has _seen_ it happen. And even as she gave up on him, he saved the day as always. She had proof then that the man in front of her really was the Doctor, _her_ Doctor. But now? This man? He had all the memories and seemed to have all the feelings, but how could she be sure? How could she know, without a doubt, this man truly was her Doctor? Who would fight only as a last resort, but always to get to her? The old Doctor, before he left, had told her this one needed her. But what was she supposed to do when all she could feel was uncertainty? Why did she even _have_ to help this man who might be a stranger?

                Then, of course, there was whatever was going on in his head. She was not so arrogant to believe it all centered on her, but she had no idea what it could be. They never talked, not really. Their longest conversations inevitably turned to arguments – even simple discussions like deciding where to sleep, eat, and go next. Their last argument, in fact, had been about whether to come to the building and investigate at all. Her dad had called her about it all thanks to sheer convenience – Greenland had one of the least guarded facilities and they were in the area. Rose didn’t want to, the Doctor did. Though _she_ had suggested Torchwood that first night together, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was afraid of what his teaming up with Torchwood might lead to. The old Doctor telling them that he was filled with rage and hate was fresh in her mind. Torchwood’s methods had always clashed with the old Doctor’s methods – and hers for the short time she worked with them – but what about this new Doctor? How could she be sure she could trust him when Torchwood would jump at the chance to arm the Doctor? However, he was long bored with their “adventures” and she knew he needed something. So, she reluctantly relented.

                But since they broke into the pharmacy building, it had almost been like old times. It had felt… _right_ as they talked their way past reception and went sneaking through offices. They had learned pretty quickly that the floor belowground was suspicious. Just as they had reached the door that led to the basement staircase, someone saw them. During the thrill of being chased up to the ventilation shaft they had just crashed out of, she had found her hand tightly wrapped around his. She didn’t know who’d grabbed whose hand, but it had felt _familiar_ and _good_. Now she’d gone and mucked it all up.

                The path they were following curved around a partially intact wall and Rose was jerked out of her thoughts as she rammed into the Doctor’s back. She nearly fell but he turned and caught her. Steadying herself on his arms, she snapped, “What’d you stop like that for?”

                He motioned for her to be quiet and pointed at a gap on the far end of the destruction. It was where the light was coming from. Peering through as much as she could, she could see at least three guards milling about the debris, presumably waiting for them to come up. As the guards shifted positions in front of the opening, she could see a door and she could make out marked “STORAGE O” in large red letters.

                Frustration seethed through her as she realized where they were. Earlier, they had filched basic schematic of the building from an empty office. If the rest of that sign read “STORAGE ONE,” and she was pretty well sure it did, then they were now on the opposite side of the building from the basement staircase.

                “Doctor, we’ve ended up on the wrong side of the place,” she whispered angrily.

                He let out a deep breath. “Noticed that,” he paused, twisting his lips in thought, “ _but_ if we could get in there,” he gestured towards the storage room, “we might be able to wait it out until after hours. A storage room that large is bound to have something we can hide in.”

                Rose snorted. “Oh yeah, great plan. Just gotta sneak past three heavily armed guards outside the only exit.”

                “Well, yeah, there’s that.” He backed away from the corner and started studying their surroundings again. She followed his line of sight. Near the gap, there was a place where the cement of the wall and the debris had formed a sort of a cave structure. “If we could lure them in here somehow, we could hide behind those rocks over there. If we’re lucky, they’d go past us thinking they’ll find us further back and we could sneak into the room behind them.”

                _Just like the Doctor_ , she thought with an odd mix of annoyance and comfort _, having a plan before I ever realize we’re in trouble_. “Well, let’s get tucked in then.”

                Quietly as possible, they climbed over debris to the little hole. Rose went in first and the Doctor followed. She tried to adjust but soon gave up. She would just have to deal with her knees being practically rammed into her chin squishing her breasts painfully, because there was not even an inch of wiggle room.

                As soon as they were in, a faint voice from outside the rubble drifted through the gap. “…probably dead. The company has been working on these fixed explosions for years, the whole blast was concentrated on that area. Let’s just go home.”

                “That would explain the distinct debris path,” the Doctor muttered to himself. Rose swatted his arm and shushed him.

                A different guard was talking. His accent was heavy, sort of like the southern American she’d seen on shows before, but they could still make out the words. “…if it’s so perfect, why ain’t they sellin’ it yet, Jimmy? ‘Cause it ain’t done yet, that’s why. They could still be alive, that’s why they sent us down here. We need to get in there and check on it.”

                The first guard replied, exasperation evident in his tone, “Bloody hell, Dane. You’re so damned paranoid. Fine, let’s go in and comb the place. Rich, you stay out here.”

                “That’s your cue,” the Doctor whispered to her.

                “My cue? Why’s is got to be me?”

                He rolled his eyes and replied in a hurried whisper. “Because they’re all men and you’re a woman about to be crying out in pain, if you’d get on with it – it’s not rocket science, Rose. We need all three in here.”

                She pinched him for his smart mouth and he winced, but gestured for her to hurry up. Taking in a deep breath, she let out an exaggerated moan of pain. They heard the guards respond – “What was that? The girl? She’s still alive?” She let out another one she hoped sounded worse.

                “Never mind that, Rich, c’mon!” the second guard yelled.  They pulled themselves further back into the hole as they listened to the guards squeezing through the gap. Rose held her breath as they ran past, clutching the Doctor’s hand. When all three had ran past without even a cursory glance back, she and the Doctor practically bolted out of the hole and through the gap. Her heart pounded furiously as they scrambled to the door and threw it open. Even as it slammed shut behind them, she felt the adrenaline coursing through her blood, the tingle of danger behind her slipping all over her spine, spurring her faster, faster.

                They zig-zagged through the various filing cabinets and office furniture until Rose spotted a large wardrobe. She stopped the Doctor and pointed to it and they ran toward it instead. It was peculiar, she thought, inspecting it as much as she could while barreling toward it. It was large and old, the wood carved in an ornate design. The rest of the furniture there was of varying age, but it was all office things like desks and shelves. It definitely didn’t belong and perhaps that should have made her nervous, but she shoved the thought out of her mind as they scrambled inside, barely paying attention to anything but closing the doors.

                They stood very close to each other in the dark, the sides of the wardrobe pressing into them. They did at least had more room further back as the wardrobe seemed to be deeper than it looked on the outside. It was weird, she thought again, because she was sure they should be pressed up against the back of it. She opened her mouth to say as much, but the Doctor shushed her. She could just make out his face. He was pressing his ear against the wooden doors, so she copied him.

                For a while there was nothing but silence. She was just about to try to talk to him again when they heard them. It was fainter than when they had been in the debris, but they could still make out some words.

                “…could they have gone?” The voice was unfamiliar so Rose assumed it was the third guard who had been silent earlier.

                The heavily accented guard spoke, “Told ya…faulty…checked back here?”

                The first guard answered, he seemed closer than the rest. “No, I’m checking the southwest corner. You go ahead.”

                He was definitely closer; they could hear his boots thumping the hardwood floor. Rose’s breath caught in her throat and she reached instinctively for the Doctor’s hand for what seemed like the tenth time that day. He gave hers a reassuring squeeze. Closer and closer the guard marched, occasionally pausing to open different doors and move things aside.

                As the sounds grew louder, Rose and the Doctor tensed. They had no ideas, no plan, no sonic to disarm the gun, no weapons to defend themselves, no backup to call and no _time_ even if they did. They were utterly trapped, more so than they ever had been before. They were about to die and all the insecurity she had felt about her Doctor only minutes before suddenly seemed so ridiculous.

                At long last his footsteps stopped right in front of them. Rose could barely breathe. She almost wished she could see, but the doors were shut too tightly, leaving no crack to peer through. With terror in her very bones, she waited almost impatiently for his hand to lift to the door and she nearly whimpered as she heard the faint sounds of him gripping the small ornate knobs her own hands had touched not too long ago.

                And then he pulled.

                But the doors didn’t move an inch.

                They didn’t even _rattle._

Rose could barely register what was happening. She heard the guard grunt and pull at the doors but to no avail. The squeak of his hands sliding on the knobs was audible even but still there was no movement from the doors at all. The wardrobe stayed resolutely shut.

                They heard what sounded like his hands slapping to his sides, as if he had dropped them in defeat. “If I can’t get this open, there’s no way they could have,” he muttered to himself. Rose listened to his retreating footsteps with pure elation.

                They kept their ears to the door and eventually caught snippets of the guards agreeing to leave, then the sound of the door slamming shut. As soon as the bang echoed throughout the room, Rose threw her arms around the Doctor. He hugged her back just as tight.

                 “Oh, Rose, I thought I was about to lose you,” he whispered, pressing his face into the top of her head.

                She nearly cried. “I’m so sorry, Doctor. I’ve been so unfair to you – I’ve been more than unfair, I’ve been a downright arse.”

                “No, no, no,” he answered, hugging her closer. “Don’t say that, don’t blame yourself. We were _both_ complete arses.”

                She laughed and couldn’t stop laughing. They were still trapped, but they’d been trapped before. They could take the world together, her and her Doctor. It was long past time she remembered that.

                “Rose,” the Doctor said, his voice strange, “not that I am not _immensely_ enjoying this hug, but how exactly _are_ we hugging? We seem to have a lot more room than we ought to.”  
                Suddenly remembering what she wanted to tell him, she pulled away. “Something’s weird – I noticed it when we came in. The back of the wardrobe should be right here,” she turned toward the missing back and reached an arm out, “but there’s nothing but _air._ ”

                “And why couldn’t he open it?” the Doctor replied, continuing her line of thought. “We yanked those doors open easy peasy, but he couldn’t even get them to _budge._ I wonder…”

                Rose couldn’t see what happened, but she assumed he tried to find the back and fallen somehow because there was a loud thud and a groan right in front of her. “Doctor,” she whispered, “are you okay? What happened?”

                Before he could reply, she was blinded by lights – _lights in a wardrobe?_ – and she heard the Doctor saying, “No way. No way – no way,” from his spot on the floor.

                As her vision finally cleared, it only took one look. Rose then knew exactly what was weird about this wardrobe. She wanted to talk but all she could do was agree with the Doctor. _No way._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairly short chapter, but the rest will be longer. I know, I know. I promised relationship angst in the summary and dealt with that fairly quickly. But the story was never really about that in the first place and I didn't want to give too much of what it's REALLY about in the summary!
> 
> I've got a rough-ish idea of how long this will be, but that could change. This will switch POVs between Rose and the Doctor. Sometimes mid-chapter and sometimes chapter by chapter. You will be able to tell fairly easily when the switch happens, but it will not be indicated except by maybe a break I used with the time lapse.


	2. Questions Aside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ergh, a super short chapter after a very long time of nothing and all I have are apologies. I've got a lot going on in my personal life right now and its a struggle to do this, but I'm determined. I hope you enjoy it regardless.
> 
> 4/22/16 - This chapter has now been edited as well and a small amount added to the end, but it is important.

_~~_

The shock was almost permeable in the moments after the lights came on. The air was still and silent. Rose and the Doctor simply stared – both afraid to speak, to move, to even _breathe_ lest the image before them turn out to be a mere mirage. _It was the Tardis._

 _No_ , the Doctor thought and he got up in a flurry of activity. He practically ran the few feet from the bottom of the stairs where he had fallen to the console that looked very much like his old one. _But it wasn’t his,_ he thought, _it couldn’t be._ He went all around the thing, peering at it up close, backing away and squinting at it; he touched it, tapped it, smacked it, sniffed it, and even _licked_ it at least twice before he stopped his mad circle. He was breathing heavy, both of his hands violently ruffling his hair, as he stood in disbelief and complete confusion. His thoughts were going a mile a minute, attempting to come up with at least one plausible solution for this, but none would come.

                “Doctor,” he heard Rose say, “I know this seems…impossible.” He didn’t look at her, but he knew she was moving toward him. Her voice was getting closer with each word. “I know it doesn’t seem like it should exist, and we don’t know how or where it came from.” She was right in front of him now, grabbing his hands and bringing them down, holding them tight. “But it’s here. It’s _really_ here and it can help us. What do you say?”

                He couldn’t speak, couldn’t form even a single syllable. All he could do was stand stock still in shock as his brain, faster than he could form it into words, raced through all of the possibilities that would explain what was before him and none of them fit. His mind was the one thing the human DNA could not touch; it was very much the mind of a Time Lord and he had an utterly _ridiculous_ amount of knowledge to call upon. Yet nothing he had ever seen or heard of in the near thousand years of memories that lived in his head made any sense of the Tardis being here and _working_. The energy of this universe shouldn’t even able to power it, it should have been dead. Perhaps, he thought, putting aside the conundrum of it being in this universe at all, it was on its last legs of power. These lights might be using its very last remnants.

                But how did they get in? They had no key. And how was it the guard _couldn’t_ get in? They didn’t lock it. The Tardis, he knew, was a sentient being capable of telepathic powers and control over itself, but how did it know they needed help or that it could trust them? How did it know the guard was dangerous? Its reach should not have been able to extend beyond its own doors, but that was the only possible explanation. Theoretically, over time if the Tardis had not been using its immense power for anything else, it could have honed its telepathic abilities and amplified them.

                But then, he realized, it would have to be on a much bigger power source than was possible. It would have to have been stuck here for years, with a huge amount of expendable power. Even if its abilities were increased, it would still need a fair amount of power to be able to reach outside itself. No matter how advanced this Tardis had made its telepathy, extending them beyond itself takes power – much more than it would have if it was only on its last legs.

                Nothing made sense. Nothing at all. None of it made a _lick_ of sense.

                _Unless_ –

                A hard sting across his cheek stopped the thought in its tracks. Rose’s voice calling his name brought him back to reality. He looked down at her, noting the worry in her eyes but unable to stop himself from grinning. “Oh, _yes_ , Rose Tyler,” he declared, “we can definitely use her.”

                Her face broke out into an exuberant. “Well, then Doctor,” she answered, “get ‘er up and runnin’.”

                With a mock salute and an “Aye, aye madam” he set about to do just that. Carefully this time, he made his way around the console again. Besides the lights and the obvious telepathic power, everything else looked dead. If not for those two things, he might have believed she was. But the lights were on and the use of telepathy could not be denied. It was with that hope in mind that he plunged his fingers into the telepathic circuits.

                He did not use them often. They were tricky, as one couldn’t allow their mind to be distracted when using it to fly, and driving the Tardis the old fashion way was simply more fun. He also hadn’t had a reason to send an en masse telepathic message via the circuit board for quite some time. All in all, he’d never really had much use for this particular part of the Tardis.

                Now, however, he was infinitely grateful for it. If he was right – and he was fairly certainly almost positive he was – then the telepathy the Tardis seemed to have demonstrated would allow him to power the whole Tardis on with said circuits. Concentrating his own telepathic powers into the board, he searched. The world around him shuttered closed as his mind sank deeper into the Tardis. Following circuits like glowing trails of golden stars, winding and twisting and curling, until he found her heart. Gently, he moved forward and allowed himself to be fully seen, opening his mind to her. He imbibed patience into his very being, lacing it with concern and tentative joy as he waited for her response.

                Were he fully human, the wait might have seemed like it was forever. But he was not and his mind was still firmly Time Lord, so he knew it was exactly three minutes and forty six seconds before she reached back. It was almost like a gentle touch on the face, as if a shaking hand had reached to brush his cheek to confirm he was real. The loneliness poured from it in a wary, frightened stream and he ached for this Tardis. For a Tardis to be so frightened and lonely, he did not want to imagine what she had gone through. A sigh of relief came from her at that thought and with the warm embrace that accompanied it, he knew she knew he was a friend.

                The Doctor took the opportunity to communicate with her his request, but she did not respond. Being a Time Lord one might think he would have the patience of a saint, but now that he was half Donna Noble, impatience was creeping up on him like an itch he couldn’t scratch. The longer she didn’t respond, the more irritated he got. He attempted to control it, but he knew the Tardis felt it anyway.

                He worried he was going to scare her off, but then the lights around him grew bright enough for his eyes to snap open. The whole room was aggravatingly bright, the lights on the console flashing, knobs turns and spinning, levers going wild. He reached out to calm her, thinking he must have frightened her after all, but Rose’s delighted laugh distracted him.

                He watched her as she doubled over in laughter, face delightfully pink and panting from the effort before he came to his senses. He was about to ask her what in the bloody hell was wrong with her – _and oh there is some more of that Noble heritage he’d have to get used_ _to_ – but she held up a hand to cut him off as soon as she caught his eyes.

                “Oh, don’t look at me like that with your eye brows all furrowed and your mouth all tight,” she chastised through her giggles. “It’s her fault,” she explained, pointing in the general direction of the Tardis console.

                “How is – Do you mean – What are you –” he sputtered before the Tardis’s own amusement hit him like a wave. Then he realized, the Tardis had been _playing with him._

                He glanced at Rose again and caught her grinning. “She says you’ve figured her out. It was a good laugh though, watching you get all twitchy and impatient.” She paused as another giggle fit threatened her. Gaining control of it, she said, “But she’s goin’ to help. She’s been here long enough to have mapped out the place. She’ll land us right where we need to blend in.”

                The Doctor was tempted to laugh with her until her statement sunk in. “What, you mean she’s talking to you? How is that possible?”

                Confusion spread across Rose’s face. “I’m – I’m not sure.” She turned to face the console, biting her lip. “When she first started talking, I sort of felt shocked but then it… Evaporated. Almost like we were old friends who were just catching up over tea or somethin’.”

                “Catching up by playing a prank on me,” he countered with an eye roll, “at a time like this.”

                Rose adopted a look of painfully false innocence and pointed at the console. “Don’t blame me. Talk to the miss over there.”

                “Oh, I will – _later._ We’ll have to figure all of this out later – her telepathic abilities and how she’s here in the first place. I’ve got ideas, but none of them are possible, but one of them has to be.”

                Rose nodded her agreement and came to stand beside him, wrapping her arms around him. “So, what’s the plan then?”

                “First, we go down to the secret lower level and figure out what exactly they’re doing down there. The financial reports we found showed several billion dollars leftover from expenses that were disappearing into ‘Non-Medical Research.’” He looked down at her, his face serious. “Weird, don’t you think? A pharmaceutical company spending billions in _non-medical_ research.”

                Rose matched his expression as she replied, “Possibly dangerous, too. After all, that specialized bomb seemed to be created here.”

                “Weird and possibly dangerous,” he concluded somberly. “Perhaps we ought to call in back up before we make our move.”

                They held each other’s eyes for a beat before they both busted out laughing. The Tardis’s own amusement wasn’t unnoticed either.

                “Oh, and miss all the fun?” Rose laughed.

                “Absolutely not, Rose Tyler,” he agreed, chuckling. “After all, we’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

                “Not in this universe,” she corrected, giggles still escaping her.

                He looked at her seriously again, “Then we’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?”

                She seconded his statement enthusiastically and even the Tardis seemed over eager to get going. Closing his eyes, the Doctor once again communicated where he desired to go. The familiar sounds of the Tardis departing filled the air and they were off. As it landed, the Tardis made use of its chameleon circuit (almost disappointingly not stuck) and he felt the shift almost tangibly. As it settled, he opened his eyes and pulled his hands from the telepathic circuits slowly.

                Surprisingly, somehow the connection still felt as deep as it had before. Her presence was still just as strong in and around him. Another impossibility. He shoved the thought aside and focused on what was ahead of him. With a deep breath, he started toward the door, grabbing Rose’s hand with the first step. He had no idea about the aliens in this universe, but as the saying goes, there’s no time like the present.

                _Wait._

The Doctor came to a sudden halt, almost jerking Rose. How can that be?

                “What is it?” Rose asked replied to her, way too casually for his taste until he remembered she said that the Tardis had _talked_ to her. He had immediately took it to mean something similar as to what he was experiencing with the telepathic circuit. Clearly, this was a day for him to be wrong.

                _You could use more days like that, Doctor._

He ignored Rose’s confusion. “What is it? We were having our grand exit, you know.”

                _Don’t you think you’re missing something?_

“What could we possibly be –”

                But then he saw it, slowly rising out of a panel that had slid away in the console. It was a little bit different, just like this Tardis, but there was no denying what it was. A sonic screwdriver.

                He was over to the console in a quick minute, snatching it up like it might disappear. He turned it over in his hand, fiddling with the settings, dabbling with the turns and numbers. Finally, he pointed it at the console and activated it, a little test run. He was not disappointed. In fact, his expectations were exceeded once again. Oh, it was _perfect_.

                He turned back to Rose to see her grinning just as wide as he was. He swaggered over back to her and held his arm out. She took it and held on tightly. Once more, they started toward the door. _Now_ they were ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I realize that its tagged Explicit but that's for later chapters. The sexual tension will start picking up soon as things settle down and are figured out and the REAL story sets in motion, but right now is just not the time for it.


	3. New Recruits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, Chapter 1 and 2 have both been edited as of 4/22/2016, with a slightly important bit tacked onto the end of Chapter 2.  
> See the End Notes for explanation on my lateness.

~~

                Rose peered out the door from where she stood behind the Doctor. The Tardis seemed to have taken them into a locker room of sorts. It was empty as far as she could tell, but there were some odd, plastic looking uniforms off to the left on a rack bolted to the wall. The Tardis wasn’t lying when she said she knew exactly where to take them. A sense of pride that wasn’t hers washed over her and Rose couldn’t help but smile. This new Tardis already felt like an old friend.

                Naturally, the Doctor had noticed the uniforms as well and was dashing toward them before she knew it. She quickly followed him. A more thorough glance around the locker room revealed that it seemed to be unisex. There were a woman’s abandoned pumps propped next to one locker, but then what seemed to a man’s dress shirt and pants draped over a bench. She turned her attention back to the Doctor when she noticed he’d put his glasses on and was sniffing the sleeve of one of the shirts.

                She leaned toward him. “They’re a bit odd, aren’t they? What would they need plastic uniforms for?”

                He took the shirt off the rack and examined the head piece attached to it. She hadn’t noticed it before; the material was clear rather than blue like the rest of it. It was big enough to cover someone’s whole head. “Well, first things first, they’re not plastic,” he answered. He pinched the material between his fingers and sniffed it again. “Definitely not Earth made material either.”

                “And how do you know that?” Rose raised her a brow at him. “This isn’t our Earth, remember?

                “No,” he answered pointing the sonic at the shirt now. “ _But_ there are some privileges being a time lord, Rose – even just half a one. One of which,” he looked up at her now and wiggled his eyebrows, “is the ability to _sniff out_ alien technology, even parallel alien technology.”

                She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hold back her smile. “Very clever. Now, how do you _really_ know?”

                He turned his attention back to the fabric. “Well, the smell _is_ off. It’s close to plastic, but not quite.” The Doctor held it close to her face as if to let her smell it too. She pulled back and gave him a face. “Suit yourself. It’s a got a little bit of a metallic edge to it. And,” he added while tasting a tip of it, “it’s a little bit grassy.”

                “Plastic, and metal, and grassy?” Rose wrinkled her nose.

                “Plastic, metal, and grassy,” he confirmed. “There’s only one thing it could be.” He grinned at her. “Amerith.”

                She frowned. “Amerith?”

                “Amerith!” He stood up and did a bit of a twirl with the shirt. “Am-er-ith! Lovely invention. Very useful.” She laughed, following him as he swung around the room with it. “Back in our universe, the delightful Rithis race invented it. See, they lived on a tiny planet almost in the _dead_ center of the Kacorax galaxy. Isolated, really.” They came back round to the rack and leaned up against it. She leaned even closer into him, soaking it in as he continued in the animated way that was uniquely him. “After _hundreds_ of _thousands_ of years of living peacefully – no wars to speak of, no great depressions – the planet started to decay. Fortunately, after a couple hundred years, they were able to stop it. They’re still quite prosperous even now.”

                She bit her lip in thought. “What’s that got to do with this funky plastic shirt though?”

                “Well, now, that’s the thing. They stopped it, but the damage had already been done. It would take hundreds of years for it to heal. The healing process, though, made the planet release a nasty gas – they named it _Machnarada_ – Mother’s Last Breath. It was noxious to breathe and even dangerous to the touch. As it started spreading, they had to find a way to protect against it.”

                Rose tilted her head toward the uniforms. “The Amerith.”

                The Doctor grinned again. “The Amerith.” He held it back up to her face. “The plastic isn’t really plastic, but it’s similar in concept. It seals the body in with only good air. The metallic portion is a special shielding metal – blocks any nasty stuff. But it still needs to be breathable. That’s where the grassy, organic component comes in. It brought in air and helped filter the good air from the gas. So, the good air would go to the person inside and the gas is blocked by the metal. It’s a genius little thing!”

                She smiled at his enthusiasm. “So, this universe has got a Rithis race too, or somethin’ similar, and they still invented Amerith.”

                He nodded. “Yes, this world is parallel after all. There will be just as many similarities as there are differences, even when it comes to aliens.”

                “But what’s it doing here? You said the Rithis were isolated in a whole other galaxy. What’re their clothes doing on Earth? D’you think they’re behind whatever this is?”

                “Well, the Amerith wasn’t limited to the Rithis for long. It works against all kinds of lethal fumes and gases. The main reason the Rithis are so prosperous now is from selling this. Any race could have brought it here,” His face looked serious now and his eyes met hers. “But an alien _had_ to have brought it here. Whatever is going on in there,” he looked at the double doors in the corner of the locker room now and then back at her, “it’s definitely not just a corporation gone off the books. Your friends at Torchwood were right. This is a front for an extraterrestrial operation of some sort.”

                Rose picked up a shirt of her own and held it up to her chest. “Well, let’s find out what’s goin’ on then.”

                ~

                The Doctor had kept his eyes trained away from Rose as soon as he’d explained that normal clothes hinder the body’s absorption of air from the Amerith. (“That explains the clothes lying everywhere then,” she’d said). Nevertheless, even while he focused on undressing and donning his own uniform, he quickly learned that this body was more human than he initially realized. What urges or feelings he could easily temper down as a pure Time Lord were quite a bit harder to fight now. As much as he did not want to be, he was acutely aware that Rose Tyler was only a few feet behind him, getting every bit as undressed as he was.

                Their past month together had been quite distant. They’d certainly never changed in close quarters like this and often had separate sleeping areas. That first night they’d slept in the same bed, he was filled with much too much of everything else for anything like this to intrude on his mind. Now, though, they had cleared the air, so to speak. They were connected again. Of course, the adrenaline of the day coursing through his veins certainly didn’t help the matter. And it wasn’t that he didn’t want to desire Rose, though - he simply wasn’t sure what to do with it.

                And he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed when she called out that she was decent. He didn’t have time to think about it either – _wasn’t that always the case_ – because not two seconds later, the door to the locker room was opening. In that moment, he realized while he did have his sonic back, he _didn’t_ have his psychic paper and that was going to be make this whole thing a tad tricky. But he could manage. Probably.

                A man walked through the door, pulling his hood down as it shut behind him. He was tall, with fair hair and brown eyes, and an important looking name tag on his uniform. He seemed human as far as the Doctor could tell, but he had been surprised before.

                He saw them immediately, of course, and Rose shot him a mildly panicked look, but he could see she was slightly excited as well. Good. So was he. Time to dive in.

                He opened his mouth to give what would surely have been a well-crafted cover story, but the man spoke first.

                “Oh, the new recruits. From America, right? You’re a day early.”

                Feeling only mildly deflated, the Doctor quickly adopted an American accent as he responded, “Yes, sir. I’m John and this is… Ethel.” He quirked a smile at Rose as she glared.

                The man shifted his gaze to Rose for the first time and smiled appreciatively. “Pleasure to meet you, Ethel. I’m Lance.” He extended his hand to Rose and his smile grew wider when she took it. “I’m the foreman here.”

                Rose gave him a pretty grin in return. “Nice to meet you. My friends call me Ethie.”

                The Doctor found himself annoyed. Probably because her American accent was off, as usual. In any case, he cleared his throat loudly and addressed the foreman, “So, when do we start?”

                Lance turned to him. “Well, since you’re early, we’ll have no choice but to rush your briefing. Did Deirdre give you the basics?”

                “Didn’t meet her,” the Doctor chanced.

                Lance rolled his eyes. “Of course not. She’s got a bad habit of leaving early when she thinks we won’t notice. Well, you’ve already got your suits on, so come with me.” They followed him to the door he’d just come through. “Hoods on and sealed,” he called back to them as he extended his hand to open it.

                The room was much larger than expected; it was more of a factory than a room. There was a mix of what looked like mechanics garages and a science labs, with different uniformed people working on various projects in marked off sections. Surprisingly, he began to recognize some of it. Sector A1 was home to a Matter-Shifting Galaxis Dom in the works. Sector D2 held a lab which, from the smells and colors, was working on teleporasis powder. Both Sector G1 and H1 had different sections of a rather massive hydronautilus automation.

                Lance didn’t explain the projects to them, but more the layout. “You’ll be assigned a sector and the Sector Head will place you where they want you. You’re to stay in your sector unless given leave. Generally, though, the designated Nomads will bring any materials or messages you may need…”

                The Doctor tuned out as he began explain shift schedules and carefully pulled his sonic from his sleeve. Whatever air was in here was toxic, and a scan should help him identify the source. Rose noticed the sonic and moved in front of him to block him from Lance’s view. He’d have been more appreciative if the action hadn’t caused her to move closer to Lance and the foreman to smirk in response.

                Thankfully, the results of his scan distracted him. _Vekrossix fumes?_ He frowned and ran the scan again. Same result, only a bit more concentrated. He looked up. They were nearing a large office situated at the back of the room. He ran the scan a third time to confirm the theory once they were closer. Even more concentrated. _Oh, now that’s interesting._

Lance turned to face them and the Doctor slipped the sonic back up his sleeve. “Be advised, the General may not be in the best mood. He’s a bit of a stickler for schedules.”

                Rose nodded. “Thanks for the warning.”

                Lance smirked again. The Doctor was suddenly annoyed that Mr. Foreman wasn’t the alien they were planning to hand off to Torchwood.

                He held the door open for them to enter. The Doctor took the lead ahead of Rose this time. The blinds on the windows were shut and the office was dimly lit otherwise. A human-esque figure sat in a cushy arm chair behind a long wooden desk. Another figure stood next to it, but was kept themselves obscured by shadows as well. The figure in the chair grunted.

                The one next to the desk nodded. “Come in, Lance.” His accent was rough and gargly. “The General wants an explanation.”

                “Of course, Officer.” Lance bowed his head as he entered. “These are our new recruits, sent from America. They arrived a bit early, it seems.”

                “No,” the General grunted. “They’re not.”

                “No,” the Officer repeated. “They’re not.”

                _The Tardis has started translating,_ he realized. That was another confirmation. He knew what they were dealing with now.

                And not a moment too soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been almost a year since I started this fic. I apologize for the terrible delay, but right around the time I started my fic, my husband left me. After that, I wasn't in a place mentally to even try to work on this. I tried to pick it up again a couple months later, but with my daughter, and being back in school, I didn't have the time or energy to give it the attention I wanted to. I still have a lot on my plate since I'm working now, too, but I'm ready for this fic this time. Chapter Four will be out no later than next Thursday. I hope you enjoyed the update, even if it is a tad short.


	4. Can't Catch a Break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter came out much faster than I thought it would! I was off for two days from work and my school servers were down tonight so I've had some free time. Enjoy!

~~

               Lance was looking from the two shadowy figures to where Rose and the Doctor stood, confusion evident on his face. “Excuse me?”

                The General sat forward as he responded in his strange, grunting tone, “They are not our new recruits.”

                The Officer repeated his words exactly and Rose felt relief sweep over her at the realization that that Tardis had started translating. It had worried her earlier.

                “Of course they are,” Lance argued, obviously aggravated. “How else would they –”

                “No,” the Doctor interrupted, grinning for only Lord knows why, “we’re not.”

                Lance stared at him flabbergasted. He was, admittedly, looking a bit stupid now. “Then, who the hell are you?”

                The Doctor’s grin only grew wider. Rose shot him a look, vying for a hint but he only winked. “That’s not the question you should be asking, mate.” He turned toward the two blokes in the shadows. “The question is, who are _they_?”

                They stayed silent and stone still. They seemed to know what Rose had surmised. The Doctor knew _exactly_ who they were.

                “They’re the General and Officer,” answered the foreman. The poor man only seemed more confused by the second.

                “Quite a bit vague, isn’t it, _Ethie?_ ”

                Rose quirked a smile at the emphasis on her nickname, but didn’t miss a beat as she shot back, “Yeah, a bit pretentious, too. Just going around calling yourself by a title. The General, the Officer, the _Doctor_.”

                “Oy,” he warned, but his smirk was still evident on his face. He did very much like to be in the know of things. “But,” he continued, addressing the whole room as he walked about firing off questions, “who are they _really_? Their names? Their positions in the company? Or their front in the company, at least?” He came around to Lance – with more swagger in his step then necessary, Rose thought. “Do you even know what they _look_ like?”

                The other man sputtered his response. “Well – that’s all – you know – classified – ”

                “’Course it is,” the Doctor agreed. “Has to be, doesn’t it?” He was looking at the other two now. Rose could see they’d gone quite tense, even in the dim light. “Wouldn’t want to frighten your happy little worker bees, now would you?”

                The General stood abruptly. “Do you have a point, Time Lord?”

                “Do you have a point, sir?” The Officer repeated.

                Neither Rose nor the Doctor missed the title he left out. “Oh, so you know who I am too, do you? That’s only fair. Not surprising either, considering who you really are. But I wonder,” he was pulling his Sonic from his sleeve now, “how surprised Mr. Foreman over here is going to be when I do this.”  
                He pointed the Sonic straight up, activating it immediately toward the ceiling. Rose covered her eyes as blinding lights came to life all around them.

                “Give a girl a bit of warning next time, Doctor,” she snapped, rubbing her face through the Amerith hood.

                As her vision cleared, her eyes instantly slid to the two in question and she started at the sight. They were definitely humanoid in shape, but that was where the similarities ended. Their eyes were large and rounded, but yellowed and mucusy. Their arms seemed grotesquely long and their hands had only four fingers. Their skin was a dark purplish hue, with sores and poxes covering every inch of it, even on the tops of their bald heads. It reminded her of the poor people back on New New York.

                A shrill gasp from behind her reminded her of Lance. He’d gone pale and was staring in disbelief. She moved over to him and placed a comforting hand on his arm, which seemed to shake him out of his trance.

                “What the hell are they?! And who the hell are you?! What in the bloody hell is going on here?!”

                The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Pipe down, Lance, you’re interrupting.” Rose gave him a warning glance, but he simply turned his attention back to the newly uncovered aliens. “Well, well, well. The Vekross have made it through the walls. Quite a feat, even for your kind.”

                “Yet here you yourself stands as well,” the General grunted in reply.

                “Yes, well, I already know how _I_ got here.” He approached the desk. The Officer twitched, but didn’t move from his position. “The question is, how did _you_ get here and _why_?” The Vekross, as they were apparently called, stayed quiet. The Doctor leaned onto the desk closing in on the General’s face. “Why’ve you got all these humans down here building random bits of technology? You’ve got plenty of work to do on your own planet. Have you suddenly gone lazy?”

                Both the Vekross responded in a violent, guttural sort of way that the Tardis didn’t translate, but Rose could surmise their meaning well enough. Something was bothering her about what the Doctor said to the Vekross, though. With Lance still in a bit of a shock, she’d kept by his side, but she made to move forward now –

                _BOOM._

Rose was flung backward onto Lance as the room exploded. She could feel the wind go out of him as her body slammed onto his, but the only thing she could hear was the ringing in her ears. Even when her eyes regained focus, her vision was obscured by dust and smoke. She coughed as she attempted to stand and stumbled until a familiar arm caught her and brought her upright.

                “Rose,” the Doctor was calling, and she could hear his voice was hoarse as well. “Rose, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

                She tried to respond, but it only instigated another coughing fit. She pointed to Lance, trying to mime that he’d broke her fall and for the Doctor to check on him. “Lance – caught – check ‘im –” was about all she could get out.

                The Doctor looked over her shoulder at the foreman with a disinterested sort of look. “Well, at least he was useful for something.”

                She rolled her eyes, but there was no time to argue. Now that he knew she was okay, he was grabbing her hand and pulling her into a run.

                “C’mon then, they ran off after the bomb went off.”

                It was chaos outside the office, everyone clamoring to see what happened. They weaved in and out of people trying to follow what she assumed was the direction the Vekross had set off in.

                “Another bomb – can you believe it?” The Doctor laughingly called back to her. “I’m starting to think they’ve got a fetish.”

                Rose squeezed his hand and laughed. “Fetish or not – if they set off another bomb, I swear – ”

                But she was interrupted by the blaring of a siren and red lights flashing an accompaniment to it. Of course, directly after came an automated, “INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. PLEASE BE ADVISED. INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT.”

                The Doctor feigned a worried look as he sped up. “Think they’re talking about us?”

                “’Course not!” Rose huffed, quickening her pace as well. “We’re the new recruits.”

                He shot her a grin and then started scanning the room. “In any case, we ought to find a place to – ah, there we go! Come along!”

                Before she could even see where he was heading, he jerked her into a hard left turn and they bolted toward whatever it was he saw. They came up on Sector N1, which contained what looked like to be a fancy storage unit. She was sure there was a lot more to it, but at the moment, all she cared about was what the Doctor had apparently seen. The sector had been abandoned in the commotion and the door left ajar.

                As opposed to the room, the unit was actually much smaller on the inside – no bigger than a small closet. They fit, but only just barely. Her back was fully pressed up against the front of him. The closeness made her skin tingle and her breath quicken. This was really _not_ the time for her heart to start pounding over every brush of his body against hers, but she could do nothing to stop it.

                Trying to refocus, she whispered, “Doctor, who’re the Vekross? How d’you know them?”

                He cleared his throat and shifted against her, sending a wave of goosebumps across her skin. “I’ve never met one personally – until now, that is – but they’re a very well-known species. They’re similar to the Krillitane in a way –”

                Rose half turned toward him in shock. “Those psychotic bat things?”

                He placed a finger over her lips, reminding her to be quiet, and she hoped the flush in her face wasn’t too noticeable. “Yes, them, but the Vekross are nowhere near as violent. The Krillitane can adapt any biological feature into themselves. The Vekross can adapt any _technology_ into their own. In fact,” he continued, excitement evident on his face, “the Vekross Hiltic once very famously made a _cellotic reductor_ out of a swiss army knife and bits of a microwave.” He paused, waiting for her reaction. She just stared at him, her expression telling him to get on with it. “Well, anyway, the thing is they’re a poisonous species – and I mean that, they are literally poison.”

                She gasped as she realized. “The sores and things all over their body!”

                He nodded. “Mhm – completely poisonous to the touch. Even the _breath_ they exhale is poisonous. It’s rather frustrating for them. They could change galaxies, but they’re forced into isolation.”

                “That explains the Amerith, then.”

                “Indeed it does. Their breath is like an air-born pathogen – spreading from just _one_ exhale to infect all the oxygen around them. The Amerith normally wouldn’t be strong enough against it, but since there is only the two of them…” He trailed off, tilting his head and his eyes focusing on something not there. Rose knew that look. Something was off.

                “Doctor?”

                “ _Why_ are there only two of them? The Vekross are a species that thrive off community.” His face turned toward hers, but she could see in his eyes that he was still elsewhere. “Because they’re forced into isolation, they have always been a very, very connected species. Familial attachment is practically their entire culture. There is a holiday every month just for the single purpose of bringing their whole race together.” He looked around the storage unit and began feeling up the walls as if looking for something hidden.

                Suddenly, she remembered what she wanted to ask him back before. “Doctor, back in the office, you were said the Vekross made it ‘through the walls’ and was asking them how they got here.”

                He put his ear on the section of wall he was investigating. “Yes, and?”

                She leaned back to try to see what he was doing. “How’d you know they came from over there? Couldn’t they just be the Vekross from this universe?”

                “The Tardis didn’t translate immediately,” he murmured, as if that answered everything.

                She resisted the urge to smack him. “And _what_ does the Tardis not translatin’ right away have to do with it?”  
  
                He had brought out his Sonic now, pointing it at the walls and scanning them. She tensed as every movement he made to point it elsewhere pushed a different parts of them closer together. “Well, the Tardis – however impossible it should be – was definitely grown in _this_ universe. It’s the only theory that accounts for the massive amount of power it has. Still, the Tardis can translate languages from any universe and it would only not translate immediately if there was some sort of conflict in with its database.”

                “So, because it paused, that means there was a conflict?”

                He was pointing the Sonic at different spots on the ceiling now. “Exactly. More precisely, the language for that species it originally had didn’t match and the right language had to be found. If the Vekross were from this universe like the Tardis is, there wouldn’t have been a delay.”

                Rose simply hummed her understanding in response. Her mind was reeling. Somehow, there was a Tardis here from this universe, which made no sense even to the Doctor. Aliens from their _own_ universe had slipped through the walls and shockingly, they’d ended up tangled up with them by little more than random chance. Less than 24 hours ago, just before she’d gotten the call from her dad, they were arguing over something stupid – she could barely remember now, something about boats – and now here they were, reunited with a Tardis and battling aliens like nothing had changed. She was suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed and every stroke and press of his body against hers as he scanned the blasted tiny room for god knows what wasn’t helping her thought process.

                “Doctor!” She whispered with as much frustration as she could muster while remaining quiet. “What are you _doing?!_ ”

                He didn’t even notice her tone. He’d just scanned the direct middle of the ceiling and was staring intently at the sonic. And the look on his face told her that they had even bigger worries coming.

                “Doctor? What’s wrong?”

                He still didn’t look up at her even as he replied, “We need to get out of here.”

                She barely processed his words and then he was grabbing her waist and pushing her toward the door.

                “Doctor – What –”

                Before they could even take the half a step toward the door, it slammed shut and the room went dark. The Doctor shimmied past her and jammed himself up against it. When it wouldn’t budge, he smashed his hand against it. “ _Damn it!”_

                Rose grabbed his arm and turned him toward her. “Doctor, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

                He sighed and she could feel by his movements that he was rubbing his hand over his face. “This room – it’s not just a room.”

                He grabbed her hand now and held it tight. She swallowed. _Not just a room?_

“It’s a teleport.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was alright. I had planned to make it longer honestly, but it just felt right to end it where I did. Chapter Five will be out no later than next Saturday (possibly sooner depending on how my week goes)!


End file.
